Feliz Aniversario #17

On a sunny Saturday in September seventeen years ago a young woman from California and a young man from Tijuana promised before hundreds of friends and family to unite their lives for as long as they live.

This past weekend we took a little time away from the work and the routine to go to a spot on the ocean and relax and reflect on all the blessings God has brought us through these years.

Thank you also to all our friends and family who were there with us on that special day and also to all of you who have supported us in our lives, our family and our work throughout these years. We celebrate with all of you.

First Anniversary of Academia de Violin

Our daughter had worked for months on her Concierto piece, preparing for this evening...her first formal recital. She played beautifully, accompanied by an excellent pianist on an elegant Steinway in the hall of the Ensenada Art Center. She was one of 24 students selected from the music school where she studies violin to play for this First Anniversary concert.

The Director of this school is a personal friend of ours whom we have known since he began playing the violin 13 years ago. Last November his father died after suffering with cancer. Our friend dedicated the concert last night to the memory of his father and gave each of us a CD as we left where his father shares about his faith in Jesus.

We are so grateful that our daughter has the privilege and opportunity to study at Academia Benning and we congratulate her and all the talented musicians who played last night.

Rewarded for a Job Well Done

We have always encouraged our girls to do their best, work hard, study, learn and to reach their full potential. Above all we emphasize that God has a dream for their lives that He is fulfilling it day by day and that there are no limits when they seek Him first and submit to His will for them.

Sometimes God's surprises go far beyond anything we could imagine or think. The Jr. High our daughter attends informed us one afternoon that there was to be an awards ceremony in Tijuana where the best students in the state would be honored for their scores on the standardized tests taken the previous year. We were thrilled to learn that our daughter had achieved the second highest score in the state for the section on Spanish language skills!

Along with the recognition and the congratulations, a photo session with the Governor and glowing accolades from the Secretary of Education, each of the over 1,000 students in attendance was given a check with their name on it to assist them in continuing their education.

Felicidades, mija!! We are sooooo proud of you. Keep up the good work!

Remembering Samuel Garcia

After a prolonged battle with diabetes and a brief battle with cancer, David's brother, Samuel (53), passed away and joined their parents in heaven this past April 28. Tonight another of the brothers sent a tribute video of Samuel that he posted on youtube. If you would like to see it, you can access it with the title My Brother Samuelson

The photos in the tribute were taken March 21 of this year during a family reunion of the Garcia family in Los Angeles. Until then we had no idea how ill Samuel was. We were able to visit him two more times and then one short month later he was gone.

We thank God for Samuel's life, for his family and for the legacy he leaves behind...and especially because one day we will see him again.

A New Home...A New Area...A New Season

After living for our entire married life in one area of the city, we couldn't imagine any place else being as beautiful, as peaceful or as pleasant. There was the beach down the street, a brand new shopping center around the corner and the giant warehouse stores within walking distance . Who could ask for more?!

But in October when our landlord told us he was selling the house and gave us two months to move out, we took it as a sign that the Lord wanted us somewhere else. We wanted to be open to His will and prayed that He would show us just where He wanted us, the location that would be most strategic for the work that He has called us to.

We scoured the internet, called realtors, saw countless properties...but nothing seemed right. We were starting to feel the pressure when a month from M-Day (move-out day) we went to see a rental house on the recommendation of a friend. It was located on the other side of town, and even the friend who had recommended it had never actually been in the house, she just knew the owner.

We showed up for the 12:00 appointment and minutes later a lovely women met us there and let us into the house. We liked her immediately. She was very kind, polite and laughed easily. As we walked around the house there was a feeling that we could see ourselves living there. It was well kept up, mexican decor with nice features and the price was even in our budget (most of the properties we had seen were not). We had to make an immediate decision as there was another person interested in the house but the owner assured us it was "first come first serve. "

From then on it was, "Let the games begin...." We called the owner, called the bank, called our friends, called to buy a washer-dryer that would fit in the new space, went out for some tacos--and started moving. From the first vehicles that started loading on Saturday evening at 6 pm until the last load Monday night at 11 pm, it was a tribute to hard work and good friends and we had moved out, moved in and cleaned both places! Setting things up would be another story, but we were officially relocated.

So how do we like it? It's great! We love living on this side of town. We can get to the girls' school and the counseling center in five minutes. Most of the people we spend time with and are in our groups live from around the corner to a few miles away. We have hosted more gatherings in the last couple of months than we usually did in a year just because we are accessible. People drop by more, we carpool now, and we have more contact with our neighbors here. Although we miss the beach, if we hike up a hill about five minutes up the road, we have a panoramic view of the entire bay!

We are still hoping that God will provide a long-term housing situation for us (perhaps one that we can purchase). But we know we are where God wants us for now and we are happy to be here!

Hola Again!!

It might appear that we have been in hibernation, but the reality is that it has been an extremely busy month and a half full of changes and transitions.
The biggest news is that after four and a half years in our previous home we have moved. We are still renting, but it is a nice place. It is another God story that I will write the next time I can connect. Right now I have to play taxi driver to my kids' activities and we are studying for exams this week.
Thank you to all who have been praying for us even though our communication has been worse than sporadic.